Yu Yan
by blueheron93
Summary: A Yu Yan archer describes the capture of the Avatar.


**Hi hi, readers! So, I'm totally fascinated by the Yu Yan archers, so naturally, I had to do a story about them. ^_^ I don't get to write from a guy's POV a lot, so this was awesome practice with that. **

**Obviously, I own nothing. **

_Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh._

In the outdoor shooting range of a military-like fortress, the Yu Yan archers trained. The silent warriors stared intently at their designated targets, their eyes sharp with focus. Even in the dark of the early evening, arrow after arrow flew proficiently through the air, each hitting its mark with such precision that the practice session seemed obsolete.

Xun, a black-haired, square-jawed young man, notched his bow again, preparing to demonstrate his remarkable accuracy with the other archers. His eyes locked on the center of the target as he took aim.

_The greatest archers in the Fire Nation, and we're stuck here as security guards,_ Xun couldn't help but think to himself. When the proud, irascible archer joined the ranks of the Yu Yan, he dreamed of glory, of fighting in battle, of playing his part in Fire Nation victory, not of shooting at common criminals.

_Whoosh._

Xun rolled his eyes at his own stupidity and carelessness. Lost in his thoughts, he had misfired and set the arrow slightly off course. The arrow had struck at least a centimeter away from the center of his desired target.

_The smallest flaw in your aim can be the difference between life and death in battle,_ Xun remembered the mantra from his training. _Not that it matters,_ he thought bitterly, pulling out another arrow, _I'm not in battle, and I probably never will be. _

Xun took aim again, and fired. The arrow hit dead center this time, as did the one after it, and the one after that. Each arrow split its predecessor straight down the middle of the shaft. He gave all his frustration to his arrows. He let his anger, unsatisfied pride, and insatiable ambition fuel his concentration and focus.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xun saw someone walking towards the training field. He let his bow string go slack when he saw that it was Colonel Shinu; it had to be important if the Colonel was interrupting practice. Xun watched as the Colonel walked towards the front of the training field. Now, others were noticing him and letting their bows down.

"Archers," he called, seemingly annoyed. Xun briefly pondered why that might be before Colonel Shinu spoke again. "I have a new task for you. You have been assigned a very important duty."

* * *

><p>Xun tried to contain his excitement as he set off. Finally, he was doing something important; he and the other archers were going to hunt down and capture the Avatar, the Fire Nation's greatest threat. At last, the Fire Nation had presented them with a task worthy of their skill.<p>

It was exhilarating, being on the hunt. Tracking the boy was _challenging. _Finding him was_ difficult_. What a thrill! What a rush! Xun could only imagine how hard it would be to actually _catch_ the boy once they found him. He was, after all, an air bender. He'd likely be fast, and difficult to catch. Yes, difficult, very difficult. Xun smirked at the thought. He was anxious for the chase.

One of the other archers gestured for the group to follow him. Xun followed, and through surrounding trees he could see the boy. The archer in the lead gestured for the others to keep moving in attempt to find a better firing position; the trees were doing them no favors.

There. Some of the trees were low, and they could easily perch in the branches. The archers climbed into the trees, and Xun pointed three fingers forward, the signal to start firing. He and another archer shot simultaneously, pinning the Avatar's feet to the ground by his shoes. The boy look startled, but quickly recovered as the other archers fired down a shower of arrows. He sent out a sphere of air, which shielded him from the arrows. He managed to dislodge the arrows pinning his feet to the ground before the archers fired again. He dodged three more arrows, and then another three.

The boy ran, but the archers had set up a perimeter, and he met four more, whose arrows he barely evaded. The archers in the trees sent down more, each missing the boy by the tiniest fraction of an inch. Xun's heart sped up with excitement as his came a hair's width away from the boy's retreating heels.

The archers followed. The boy was quick, and he managed to continue dodging their arrows. He ended up in a swamp, just to the south of the cliffs, with Xun and the other archers in hot pursuit.

_Are those frogs?_

Xun misfired in surprise when the boy began pulling frozen frogs out of the swampy waters and shoving them in his robes, still trying desperately to avoid the arrows. Admittedly, the boy was doing a fine job of it, but he couldn't keep it up.

Xun felt his heart speed up once more as his arrow pinned the boy's sleeve to a fallen tree trunk. Three more arrows followed his own, further trapping his arm.

_You're ours now._ As the archers aimed to shoot again, the Avatar waved his arm and sent up a sheet of swamp water, and froze it. Arrows hit the ice in quick succession, shattering it. A few more arrows pinned his free arm, and four archers sent out a net attached to their arrows.

_Victory! _Xun thought, beaming. _Let's see them send us back as mere security guards now!_

A triumphant cry went up amongst the archers as they took their captive back to the fortress. He struggled, but they knew he was incapable of escape. Xun's smile widened further. They would be heroes now. Legends. Tales would be told of the skilled Yu Yan archers, who had captured the most threatening enemy of the Fire Nation.

_Soon, all will know my name._

**What do you guys think? I actually really like this one, but I'm not fond of the ending. Seems kind of abrupt…Any ideas? **

**Review please. ^_^**


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